State of Vermont Archives: on Drugs

Peter Shumlin:
Address drug addiction as a public health crisis

Vermont is confronted by a crisis of the rising tide of drug addiction and drug-related crime. In every corner of our state, heroin and opiate drug addiction threatens us.

We often hear in the news about the criminal side of drug addiction, about the
robberies or the busts in our communities. Our police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges do an extraordinary job under tough circumstances. But as those who are in the thick of this struggle have concluded, we must bolster our current approach
to addiction with more common sense. We must address it as a public health crisis, providing treatment and support, rather than simply doling out punishment, claiming victory, and moving onto our next conviction.

Addiction is, at its core, a
chronic disease. We must do for this disease what we do for cancer, diabetes, heart, and other chronic illness: first, aim for prevention, and then eradicate any disease that develops with aggressive treatment.

Source: 2014 Vermont State of the State speech
Jan 8, 2014

Peter Shumlin:
War on recidivism: $300,000 for methadone treatment

Many non-violent offenders have drug & alcohol related addictions. When their time is up, lack of adequate housing, adult basic education, drug & alcohol counseling, mental health services & job options leave them with the same lack of skills & substance
abuse challenges that led them into prison in the first place.

My Administration will re-allocate an additional $300,000 to unlock the waiting lists for methadone treatment. This represents the first steps in my administration's war on recidivism.